Clinical features of diabetic patients with pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to a university hospital

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor of tuberculosis (TB). We studied the clinical presentation of pulmonary TB among patients with DM in comparison with patients without DM who were admitted into the hospital of the University of the Ryukyus from 2006 to 2010. The clinical data were collected from medical records retrospectively. Ten cases (25%) of hospitalized patients with pulmonary TB had DM. The DM group showed lower Body Mass Index and higher incidence of chronic heart failure and chronic renal failure. The DM group also were more likely to have cavitary lesion, had longer period of hospitalization, and higher mortality. Their causes of deaths were mainly the co-morbidities and associated complications. Further studies are warranted in order to fully elucidate the relationships between pulmonary TB and DM.